


The Secret Life of a Teenage Mutant Firebending Turtle

by Crypticbeliever123



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Airbender!April O'Neil, Airbender!Michelangelo, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Avatar!Splinter, Earthbender!Bebop, Earthbender!Casey Jones, Earthbender!Donatello, Earthbender!Rocksteady, Earthbender!Splinter, Earthbender!Tang Shen, Firebender!Old Hob, Firebender!Raphael, Firebender!Shredder, Gen, Non-bender!Harold Lillja, Pro-Bending, Raph's keeping secrets from his family, Waterbender!Angel, Waterbender!Karai, Waterbender!Leonardo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 07:07:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15358989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crypticbeliever123/pseuds/Crypticbeliever123
Summary: In a world where countless Benders have transformed into mutants and the savage Firebender, Oroku Saki, seeks to eradicate them all, things can seem pretty bleak. Despite finding a home with the Avatar and three other mutant turtles, Raph feels like he's still on the run from his past, still needing to hide who he is so the people who've hurt him can't find him, still in danger of people who think the way the Shredder does, still burdened by his life in general. What's a guy to do when his demons finally catch up to him?





	1. Family

**Author's Note:**

> _Fire. Air. Water. Earth. Years ago, following the Harmonic Convergence that gave rise to a new generation of Airbenders, Avatar Korra left the portals to the Spirit World open. This led to the growth of the Spirit Wilds in Republic City. Curious scientists, such as the Airbender Baxter Stockman, felt compelled to study the strange energies surrounding this new and unusual terrain. However, underestimating the power of the Spirit Wilds, his experiment went haywire. A shockwave of mystic energy spread out and affected countless Benders, transforming them and even Stockman himself into humanoid animal mutants. The Avatar, an Earthbender named Hamato Yoshi, saw himself transform into a rat before his very eyes. Seeing the fear and panic that swept the world following this shocking development, he sought to assure everyone that this change in appearance was nothing to fear but was something to embrace. A rebirth of sorts, he called it. Seeing it as such he, like many other mutants, felt this new form of his deserved a new name. He was Hamato Yoshi no more. Now he was Master Splinter, a new Avatar for a new age. And no matter what prejudices some may hold against their kind, Master Splinter will continue to fight to protect people of all kinds and to bring about an age of peace and harmony between humans and mutants. No matter what the vicious Firebender, Oroku Saki, has to say about it._
> 
>  
> 
> Yes, I did mimic the opening styles of The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra for the fun of it. Couldn't resist really. So obviously, this story will mostly center on Raph. Though this first chapter is kind of from Splinter's point of view for the most part and I may write some of the chapters from various character POVs as well. Not sure yet about that. Not actually sure yet if I'll include Bebop and Rocksteady in the story or not, just figured I'd add them to the character tags in case I can figure out something for them later. Also not sure how soon I'll update this or not. It might be anywhere between a few days to a week or two. I promise I'll update when I can though. Hope you guys enjoy my first TMNT fanfic!

It’s been 11 years since the mutation event, and 11 years since Splinter saw the man who was once his childhood friend rise to become the Shredder, the face of bigotry and hate directed against his kind. Though many people are accepting of mutants, he knows that there are also many who would fall in line with Oroku- no. Not Oroku Saki. Not anymore. Now he is only the Shredder, a villain who would see countless fall dead at his hands for simply being who they have become after Stockman’s experiment; a fate they could not control.

 

His old friend has grown quite powerful since he last saw him years before the event. Even in their youth Saki was a gifted Firebender, capable of using blue flame and lightning to great effect. Now he has found a new technique in his Bending. Firebenders have long been known to harness the power of their own chi to will fire into being. Now it seems that Shredder has managed to gain such control over chi that he can affect not only his own but that of others as well, severing the connection between spirit and chi within a person, cutting them off from their Bending permanently. Not even Splinter’s Energybending could restore their gifts.

 

Still, though Shredder has brought much pain and fear into this world Splinter has found small joys in it as well in the form of his four students, his adopted sons. Though they brought him joy as he has tried to do for them in return, he can’t help but feel pain in his heart for them and the sorrows that led to their union as a family.

 

First there was Leonardo, a Waterbender from the Foggy Swamp Tribe whose family left him behind in the chaos that erupted when the Shredder attacked. The great banyan-grove tree that resided there had caused a mass congregation of mutations through its connection to the Spirit Wilds just as had occurred at ground zero, Republic City itself. The Shredder had sought to bring about the end of all the mutants that had sprung up in the tribe by destroying the great banyan-grove tree using his new technique to kill the tree’s connection to the surrounding area and the Spirit Wilds. Though Splinter was unable to save the swamp from ruin at the Shredder’s hand, he was able to rescue the frightened Leo from death and take him in as his own.

 

Then, a year later Shredder laid siege to the city of Zaofu. Two Earthbenders, mutated into the forms of a female lizard and a male armadillo, did their best to hide their young son, Donatello, from the Shredder’s attack but sadly lost their lives in efforts to protect their child. Luckily, Splinter arrived just in time to save the young Donatello from being slaughtered as his parents had been. He still remembers holding the young turtle in his arms as he wept for the loss of his parents that night when they returned home to Republic City.

 

It was only a handful of months before Splinter found himself with yet another son; another turtle to his amusement. Michelangelo may not have been the Shredder’s target but he was still a victim of his nonetheless as Shredder’s attack on Republic City, in an effort to lure Splinter to his doom, led to much destruction that brought about the car accident that claimed the lives of Mikey’s parents. Splinter was called in to the Police Precinct after the incident, having informed the Police Chief that should any young mutants find themselves in need of a new home he was to be contacted at once. Mikey took to his new brothers almost immediately.

 

It was several years before he took in another son. This one he didn’t find through tragedy but rather by happenstance. Raphael was but 14 when Splinter found the turtle stealing food to survive. When confronted Raph attacked him with his Firebending, thinking he was in trouble with the Avatar. The fight ended quickly as Splinter used his own Bending to counter and offered to instead buy him a meal that they could talk over instead of fighting. Raphael told him about how in light of his mutation his father had attacked him and cast him from their home. Splinter felt sorry for the young Firebender and offered him a home. Though hesitant to trust him, Raphael agreed and was greeted by his three new brothers when they arrived at the Avatar’s Temple.

 

Over the years his sons have grown and become very capable Benders. Leonardo, who was now 17 was nothing short of a master, having trained to be skilled at not just natural Waterbending but also the arts of healing and Plantbending as well. Donatello, now 15, was as skilled at Bending metal as he was at bending other earthen materials and took full advantage of it in his inventing. Michelangelo, an energetic 14 year old, despite not having as wide a range with his Bending as his brothers did, was still gifted in his skills; enough so, that he frequently uses them in pranks around the temple. Raphael…

 

* _sigh_ *

 

Raphael was different. No matter how hard he tried to teach him, the boy still could not even master the basics. It was as if he weren’t even trying. Raphael could create fire no problem, even large amounts of it if he lost his cool. It was simply controlling that fire that seemed difficult for him as he couldn’t direct flames very well and making precise movements with such fire was proving to be essentially impossible for the young Bender. His form and technique were both sloppy to say the least. Two years into his training and still no improvement.

 

“Again,” Splinter said with a sigh as Raphael failed in performing a basic Firebending technique once more.

 

Raph took a deep breath.

 

“Just relax and remember why you’re doing this,” the turtle whispered to himself as he drew in another breath only for his focus to be completely disrupted by Mikey bursting in with loud enthusiasm.

“MIKEY!”

 

The Airbender just ignored him and flew past on an air scooter before coming to a stop.

 

“Guys, guys, guys! Check this out!” Mikey exclaimed as he pulled out a poster for a Pro-Bending match that was being held downtown.

“It’s Pro-Bending. So? What’s so great about it?” Raph questioned with irritation at Mikey’s exuberance as they were joined by Leo and Donnie.

“So?! It’s a match between the Fire Ferrets and the Boar-q-pines! They’re the two best teams in the circuit! We have to go and see them play!”

“I don’t know Mikey, I’ve still got a lot of work I need to do on my latest inven-” Donnie said before being interrupted by the sound of an explosion coming from his lab.

“On second thought, I’d love to go.”

“Yes! What about you Leo?”

“Sure thing. Sounds like fun. Raph, are you in?”

“Pass,” Raph said before turning to leave.

“Pass?! How can you pass up the chance to see the Fire Ferrets play the Boar-q-pines, bro?”

“Because I’m not as big a fan of Pro-Bending as you are. Heck, I’m not even a fan!”

“Blasphemy! Pro-Bending is the single greatest thing in the world and it is impossible to not love it. You just say you don’t like it because you know you’re not good enough to make any of the teams.”

“Michelangelo!” Splinter warned.

“It’s fine, Master Splinter. Mikey’s little jabs about my bending haven’t upset me before, they ain’t gonna start now,” Raph replied as he headed off to his room.

 

Raph sighed, sliding down against his bedroom door. The weight of his secrets could really eat at him sometimes. Luckily his phone started buzzing to take his mind off it. Surprise, surprise, a text message from his best friend Casey. Good ole Casey, always there when he needed him even if it was a total coincidence that he was calling at the exact moment when he needed him the most.

 

**Practice is @ 3. Think u can make it or is Splinter still trying 2 “teach u firebending”? lol**

Oh I’ll make it alright. Just make sure April’s there & geared up. Last time she was late & still needed 2 get changed

**Clearly you’ve never taken college classes. Just be there on time, kay?**

Kay btw Mikey’s trying 2 get the fam 2 go 2 our match this Friday

**XD what’d u say?**

Said it was stupid and that I wasn’t going

**Blasphemy!**

That’s what Mikey said 2 is that word trending right now or something?

**Make all the excuses u want dude but don’t u dare insult our beloved sport**

Whatever see u @ practice

**See u**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments below!


	2. Leo the Spy

Just as he put away his phone there was a knock on his door. Ugh. It’s Leo.

 

“What do you want, Leo?”

“I just wanted to let you know that Mikey was sorry for insulting your Bending earlier. If you need any help-”

“No thanks. I’m good.”

“You sure? Because you’ve made barely any improvement since Master Splinter took you in. If you’re struggling at all-”

“I’m not. Look, can everyone just stop badgering me about my Bending? If I don’t get it, I don’t get it. What’s it matter if I suck?”

“No one’s saying you suck. We’re just worried that something might be holding you back from-”

“Holding back? Who’s holding back? I’m not holding back!” Raph said a tad defensively.

“Uh, no one said that you were. I just- Look, in my experience when someone’s having difficulties with their Bending it’s usually because of some internal conflict. So, if you ever need to talk-”

“No thanks. I’m good. Seriously, Leo, not everyone who’s bad at Bending has some emotional problems or whatever. Some are just bad at it. Ain’t nothing you can do to change that.”

 

Leo noticed Raph pull a duffel bag out from under his bed, one that Raph never lets anyone look in for some strange reason. Then again his brother always was the mysterious one. Wonder what he’s hiding.

 

“Look, Leo, I gotta go.”

“Go where?”

“The gym. I’m in need of a bit of a workout so don’t wait up. If I’m not back by 7 I’m probably grabbing some dim sum with friends. See ya,” Raph said as he headed out.

 

_Friends? What friends? He’s never met any friends of Raph’s. Hell, he didn’t even know Raph had friends!_

 

Crap! Why did he say friends? He’s trying to keep his Pro-Bending life separate from his home life and he goes and mentions his friends?! What was he thinking? Now Leo’s gonna get all snoopy and start questioning him a ton when he gets back. Great. Just what he needs.

 

Naturally, Leo’s curiosity got the better of him. He started to follow Raph out of the temple and off down the street, being ever so careful as to keep enough distance so that Raph wouldn’t notice. They pass by the gym Leo thought Raph was going to which raises so many questions, such as where is he really going? He gets his answer when they come up to the Pro-Bending gym, reserved for players only.

 

“And he said Pro-Bending was stupid,” Leo muttered to himself as he used his Waterbending to reach a second story window to sneak in.

 

When he got in he saw three people there waiting for Raph; a guy with pitch black hair and what looked like a couple of missing teeth wearing the Fire Ferrets’ Earthbending uniform, a girl who seemed to have dyed her hair an unnatural shade of orange-red wearing the Airbending uniform, and another girl with purple streaks dyed into her hair wearing a Waterbending uniform.

 

“Alright, guys, ready to get started with practice?” Raph asked as he entered the room dressed in the Firebender’s uniform.

“Sure. Just one second,” the red-headed girl replied before blasting a stream of air, knocking Leo down from where he was hiding.

“Ow!”

“I sensed a breeze when he snuck in.”

“Leo!”

“Hey, Mr. I don’t like Pro-Bending. Fancy running into you here huh?” Leo remarked as he got up from the ground.

“Okay I can explain!”

“Explain what? The fact that you’re part of Mikey’s favorite Pro-Bending team or the fact that you must be a much better bender than we give you credit for to even be good at the sport?”

“Listen I-”

“Is this why act like you aren’t learning anything? So we don’t figure out that you’re part of the Pro-Bending circuit?”

“No, I just-”

“What’s the big deal? It’s not like mutants aren’t allowed to play or anything. Did you just lie because you know Mikey’s gonna want in and you want this to be just your thing? Did you-”

“Would you just shut up and let me answer first?! Geeze!”

“Okay, go on.”

 

* _sigh_ *

 

“Okay, look there’s a lot of stuff in my past that I’m trying to hide from. Stuff that’s dangerous and life-threatening and the only way for me to protect myself from any of that is by not letting people know how good a bender I really am. If word got out about a mutant turtle who was as good at Firebending as I am some really bad people I know would come after me and I don’t want to have to go on the run again. But pretending to suck all the time is exhausting so I use Pro-Bending to let off a little steam every now and again. Look, it’s no big deal. But please don’t tell the others. Mikey will probably never stop badgering me about Pro-Bending and Master Splinter will just lecture me about keeping secrets and have me ‘train’ even more as punishment for lying for so long. Donnie would probably be cool about it but I don’t want to risk him blabbing to either of the other two. Please, Leo. I know we don’t always get along but I’d really appreciate it if you just kept this between the two of us, alright?”

“Okay. I’ll keep your secret. But if there really are bad people trying to find you then you should tell Master Splinter about it.”

“No. Way.”

“If he knew, he could help protect you. He could help keep you safe from whoever-”

“Safe? Safe?! Oh really Leo? You actually believe that after practically your whole tribe was wiped out because Master Splinter couldn’t stop Shredder? You believe that after countless people he swore to protect have died because he wasn’t good enough on his own or he wasn’t fast enough or he just wasn’t there at all? I nearly died when I was five at my own father’s hands and where was Master Splinter?        Protect me? Pfft. I don’t need his protection,” Raph said brushing past Leo.

“Then why do you stay?”

“Because… it’s nice having a family to come home to for once in my life,” Raph said with a soft smile as he turned back to look at his older brother.

 

The smirk on Leo’s face made him instantly regret his words.

 

“Look, my friends and I gotta practice so if you don’t mind-”

“No sweat. Any chance I can stick around to watch though? It’d be nice to see what kind of Bending you’re capable of when you’re not holding back. Plus, you haven’t exactly introduced me to your friends here.”

“Name’s Angel Bridge. Nice to meet you dude,” the Waterbender said with a handshake.

“I’m April. Sorry about blasting you earlier. We just like to keep a closed practice.”

“No problem. Like the hair by the way.”

“Thanks. My parents weren’t too thrilled though. They prefer the natural black color I used to have.

“I don’t know. I think this color suits you more.”

“Right?!”

“Ahem,” the Earthbender interrupted.

“Oh right. And this is Casey.”

“Nice to meet you. Raph’s told us all about you.”

“Good things by any chance?”

“Depends. Does being bossy and a huge stick in the mud sound like good things?”

“No. No it does not.”

“Alright. Alright. Can we get to practicing now? I’m bored,” Raph interrupted.

“Sure thing. Leo, you can take a seat over there,” April suggested.

 

As practice began Leo was glad that Raph’s secrets were out in the open, at least between the two of them, but he was still concerned. Who were these dangerous people Raph was so afraid of? How bad could they be? Certainly no worse than Shredder, and yet Raph seemed as afraid of the people who were after him as the rest of the world was of Oroku Saki. He was seriously considering telling Master Splinter about this part at least.

 

Meanwhile, Raph was a bit annoyed at having Leo here. Normally practice was where he’d get to cut loose the most, even more so than the actual matches but right now he was having to hold back still. Perhaps not as much as he does back at home, but still more than he’d like to. And Leo knowing any of his secrets, even if it was just one out of several, was bound to bring trouble for him. He just hoped that Leo could be trusted enough to not blab this one secret the second they got back to the temple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think down below in the comment section! I'd love to hear what you thought about either of the chapters so far!


	3. The Nightwatcher

Luckily for Raph, Leo was true to his word and kept his mouth shut. The question now is whether or not it’ll stay shut… especially considering how much trouble he seems to be having to keep himself from laughing every time Mikey talks trash about his Firebending skills over breakfast.

 

“What’s so funny?” Donnie had asked their older brother when he heard him snicker in response to Mikey’s crack about Raph being a bad Bender.

“Oh nothing. Nothing at all,” Leo replied as he tried to conceal his smirk behind his tea cup; poorly if I might add.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be, Leo? Like, trying to weasel your way into one of those important meetings Splinter’s always going to?” Raph asked with an air of annoyance.

“I do not _weasel_ , Raphael, I simply try to persuade Master Splinter into letting me attend because I believe I could provide some assistance in these matters.”

“Dude, you’re 17. What _assistance_ could you possibly offer? Splinter’s meetings are always about stuff like trying to track down Shredder and that Foot Clan of his, dealing with political issues, mutant relations, or Republic City police matters. Like this one case where the Triple Threat Triad’s numbers seem to be going down, but no one knows why, and the police chief has this sneaking suspicion about it being because of this vigilante Firebender they’re calling the Nightwatcher and… What?” Mikey asked as he noticed his rambling was drawing confused looks from his brothers.

“How could you possibly know any of that happens in his meetings?” Leo questioned.

“I may or may not have stolen one of the listening devices Donnie’s always using to spy on us to eavesdrop on Splinter’s meetings. You’d be surprised how easy it is to plant a bug on him.”

“I do not use those devices to spy on you guys. I use them to keep track of whenever you, Mikey, are planning on pranking me.”

“Ah come on, my pranks aren’t that bad.”

“Not that bad? Not that bad?! The last time you pulled a prank in my lab I was cleaning slime out of my electronics for weeks!”

“Guys can we not start another fight over pranks?” Leo groaned.

“Yeah, how about instead we use the bug Mikey planted on Splinter to listen in on whatever his next meeting’s about? Personally, I’m a little curious about this vigilante thing, especially that dumb name they gave him. I mean who even came up with Nightwatcher in the first place?” Raph interjected.

“Who knows, who cares? Race ya to the radio set!” Mikey said before creating an air scooter to zoom off, blowing everyone’s meals into their faces at the same time.

“MIKEY!!!” the three turtles screamed.

 

As soon as the four turtles were gathered around Mikey’s radio they tuned into the meeting Splinter was having that morning.

 

“ _Look we all know our priority is the Shredder. No one is arguing that. But just because he’s our priority does not mean he should be our **only** priority. Shredder could be anywhere in the world. We are the **Republic City** police department. Our focus has to be on the crimes committed in this city too. And that includes whatever vigilantism is going on that has put the Triple Threats into a downward spiral_,” the police chief argued.

“ _While I agree that we do need to maintain a watchful eye on this city, I find your claims that there is a vigilante roaming the streets highly questionable. What proof do we have that there even is one? Who has come forward to say they have seen one?_ ” Splinter asked her.

“Yeah, what proof _do_ they have?” Raph questioned.

“Quiet! I can’t hear!” Leo whisper-shouted at him.

“I think this radio might need some fixing,” Donnie added.

“Shh!” Mikey insisted as he pulled the radio closer to his ear.

“ _No one has come forward. But when brought in for questioning the Triple Threats act as though they’re more afraid of what’s out on the streets than they are of us. Some of them have even turned themselves in voluntarily. We ask them if there’s a vigilante out there and they get scared, **very** scared. Either there’s a threat out there that we’re not dealing with or the Triple Threats have turned into cowards afraid of their own shadows. And I don’t know about you, **Master Splinter** , but I don’t consider Triple Threats to be all that cowardly._”

 

Raph almost forgot that there was tension between Splinter and the police chief. It’s not like he sees Tang Shen around the temple too much. Though when he does it’s always with a smile, a bit of snark, and the subtly flirtatious way she calls the Avatar, _Master Splinter_. He swears those two need to just get a room already.

 

“ _Look, if you really need convincing that there’s a vigilante threat out there then why don’t you join us on patrol tonight? From what little pattern we’ve managed to dredge up from reports of the Triple Threats leaving certain areas it seems like this Nightwatcher’s next target is the Dragon Flats Borough. We’re going to be staking the whole place out tonight so if you want proof he’s out there feel free to join us._ ”

“Well that’s just great. Looks like Splinter’s going out again tonight. Guess this means more take-out,” Raph groaned.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Mikey replied as he followed Raph out of the room.

“Donnie, you okay?” Leo asked as he noticed a pensive look on his younger brother’s face.

“It’s just I’ve been using a police scanner to keep track of things in the city and I know what pattern they’re talking about but I think they’ve got it wrong,” Donnie said as he got up to go to his lab.

“I think they’re leaving out a few factors, like what businesses haven’t been hit by the Triple Threats lately but have been in the past. Some of those overlap with territories the Triple Threats have left behind but some of them are in completely different sectors. I don’t think the Dragon Flats is where the Nightwatcher’s headed tonight. If he does exist I think he’ll be patrolling the Southern District,” he explained as he pulled up a map of the city with various locations highlighted.

“It’s a good theory but Master Slinter probably won’t hear it. He doesn’t even think this Nightwatcher exists.”

“And if we go to the police they won’t listen to us just because we’re teenagers.”

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Leo asked with a smirk.

“Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no, NO! No way, Leo! No. Way!”

 

“Mikey, Donnie and I think the Nightwatcher’s hitting a different part of the city tonight. We’re going to stake it out. You in?” Leo asked as he entered the living room where his youngest brother was playing video games.

“Yeah boi! Count me in!”

“Raph, what about you?”

“Pass. Already made plans tonight. Not interested in going out to hunt down some vigilante who may or may not exist.”

“Plans huh?” Leo replied with a knowing smirk.

“Stop. I’ll see you guys later. I’ve got to get to the gym right now.”

“See ya, bro!” Mikey shouted after him.

“So where are we going?” he asked Leo after Raph was gone.

“The Southern District. Donnie thinks that’s where the Nightwatcher’s going to strike next.”

“Do we even really need to get involved in this? I mean what’s this Nightwatcher doing exactly? Stopping the Triple Threat Triad from terrorizing the city? Is that really such a bad thing?” Donnie asked as he joined them.

“Well, no. But it’s at least worth it to track him down in case that’s not all he’s doing. Vigilantes can be unruly and unpredictable. For all we know he could be terrorizing people just as much as the Triple Threats.”

“Alright, alright. We’ll go. But if we get in trouble for this, you’re the one taking the blame on this one,” Donnie agreed.

“Will do. Now let’s head into the dojo to practice. We don’t know what kind of bending this guy might have and I’d rather not get caught unprepared. We need to be at the top of our game for this.”

“Ugh! Training? I thought this would be fun, like being superheroes or something,” Mikey complained.

“What’s more fun than training?”

“Comic books.”

“Gadgets.”

“Food.”

“Radio frequencies.”

“TV.”

“Scientific-”

“Okay, okay. I get it. Let’s just practice. Okay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought down below!


	4. The Stakeout

Night eventually falls, after several hours of daytime wherein Leo, Donnie, and Mikey try to act as natural as possible to avoid having Splinter find out about their plans. Needless to say, they are not naturals at acting natural. Luckily, they manage to make it through the day without arising too much suspicion from Master Splinter. Now all they have to do is head on down to the Southern District, scour the rather large area for any signs of the vigilante, and if needed, bring said vigilante to justice. Simple. Right? Just a little waiting. And waiting… and waiting…

 

“Ugh! This is taking forever! Maybe Donnie was wrong, and the cops were right, and we’re over here for nothing!” Mikey groaned as minutes dragged on into hours.

“I’m never wrong!”

* _cough_ *“Rocket shoes,”* _cough_ * Leo reminded him of one of his many failed experiments he was certain would be a success; it was not.

“Okay, I’m _almost_ never wrong. But I _know_ I’m right about this. If the Nightwatcher exists he’ll be in this area at any moment,” Donnie replied earning another loud groan from the youngest of the three.

“It’s okay, Mikey. These things just take some time,” Leo reassured him.

“And how would you know? Not like you ever been on stakeouts neither.”

“True, but-” Leo tried to respond only to be cut off by the sounds of breaking glass not too far off.

“Come on!” he instructed, leading the younger two toward the sound.

 

Sure enough it was the Triple Threat Triad, wrecking a place of business that refused to pay them “protection money”. The three criminals were smashing things left and right and the turtles were about to jump in to stop them when who should show up-

 

“It’s him! It’s that freak they told us about!” the Earthbender of the criminal trio cried out as the Nightwatcher arrived on the scene, clad from head to toe in leather armor; smart choice if you ask Donnie, not something someone can bend like metal could be.

“Ya know, I never really did like the word freak,” Nightwatcher responded in a digitally altered voice before lighting up blue flames in his palms.

“It’s him! It’s the Nightwatcher!” Mikey shouted to his brothers.

“Quiet, Mikey!” Leo insisted.

 

The Triple Threat’s Waterbender pulled water out from a nearby fire hydrant to try and douse the vigilante’s flames. The Nightwatcher simply lifted his hand up to block it with fire that turned from blue to white. As the water hit the flame, it turned instantly into steam, fogging up the area so that the criminals couldn’t see.

 

“Huh? What happened?” the Firebender of the group asked before being punched in the face by the Nightwatcher.

 

He regained his footing after the punch and tried to blast him with a stream of fire that seemed to be diverted without even motioning for it. The Nightwatcher simply stepped toward him as the Earthbender and Waterbender tried to launch attacks at him from either side that he melted or evaporated with the intensity of the white flames he held up beside him. As the two Benders tried to move in closer to improve their attack, the Nightwatcher flicked his wrists toward them zapping them with small lightning strikes to knock them out. The Firebender backed away with a look of sheer terror on his face, before tripping over his own feet and falling to the ground.

 

“No. Wait. Please!” the guy screamed as the Nightwatcher lifted him off the ground and proceeded to channel the man’s chi in such a way that his veins glowed at the various, swift motions, before the Nightwatcher finally struck at the center of the Firebender’s chest, snuffing out the light that had been emanating from him.

“Dude, what did he just do?” Mikey asked his brothers as they watched.

 

The Firebender backed away, panting at whatever the Nightwatcher just did.

 

“No. No, no, no, no, no! No!” the Firebender panics as he seems to attempt Firebending to no avail.

 

“He took the guy’s Bending. Just like Shredder can!” Donnie exclaimed in shock.

“No wonder the Triple Threats are so afraid of him,” Leo responded just as Mikey gasped.

“You don’t think this guy _is_ the Shredder, do you?” he asked, earning a slap on the back of the head from Donnie.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Shredder’s got almost a whole foot on that guy.”

“He could be wearing stilts when he’s in his Shredder armor. You don’t know!”

 

“NO! I’ll kill you! You son of a-” the ex-Firebender screams as he pulls out a knife to try and attack him.

 

The Nightwatcher simply raises a hand, covered in lightning and blue flame, which stops the man in his tracks, seemingly paralyzed in fear.

 

“You’ve seen what I can do firsthand. You really think that a little old knife is gonna do ya any good?”

 

The man looks at the knife then back at the Nightwatcher before dropping it.

 

“Now warn the others. Tell them that if they don’t back off from terrorizing the good people of this city that the same thing’s happening to them. Tried to get the word out with the earlier chumps but they don’t seem to be so good at listening,” the Nightwatcher says as he steps toward the former Firebender menacingly.

“How about you? You good at listening?” he asks as he gets up close to the man’s face.

 

The man whimpers as he nods his head in response before running off screaming.

 

“Triple Threats. Ha. Barely even a threat,” the vigilante mutters under his breath as he turns to leave.

“Hey Nightwatcher!” Leo shouts out from the alley, gaining the guy’s attention.

“Yeah, you. I don’t know who you think you are but you’re coming with us.”

“Well I think, my name ain’t Nightwatcher for starters. Also, I ain’t coming with you. Sorry, but I got places to be and texts I should really be responding to so… later!” the Nightwatcher responded before propelling himself up onto the rooftops with a burst of fire.

“After him!” Leo shouted as he used water to launch himself onto the roof as Donnie and Mikey did the same with their own elements.

 

They gave chase, leaping from rooftop to rooftop as the Nightwatcher tried to escape into the night. Then… Leo’s phone rang.

 

“Hey, Master Splinter. We’re all good at the temple and everything so-”

“Funny, I was just checking the security monitors at the temple and it shows that none of you are at home right now.”

“There are security monitors?” Leo asked over the phone, earning nervous looks from his brothers as they tried to keep up with the vigilante.

“Yes. I had Donatello install them three months ago.”

“Donnie!”

“What?! I forgot!”

“Where are you four?”

“Well I don’t know where Raph is, but Donnie, Mikey, and I are busy chasing after the Nightwatcher in the Southern District. He’s a Firebender, he can bend lightning and blue flames as well as really hot white ones. Never seen that kind before. And he seems to be able to take away people’s bending just like the Shredder!”

“WHAT?!”

“Yeah, we’re headed towards 9th and Iroh Avenue. Can’t talk. Gotta go, bye!”

“What’d you do that for?” Donnie inquired.

“Yeah! Now he’s gonna come with the whole police squad and take over what was supposed to be our thing!”

“This Nightwatcher’s a more powerful Bender than I anticipated. If we’re going to bring him in we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought down below!


	5. Confrontation

So far, this night was going _great_. His brothers just caught him, taking down Triple Threats. He’s still not sure if they saw him take that Firebender’s Bending from him or not but he sure as hell hoped they didn’t, especially since it sounded like they were calling in Master Splinter for backup. _Great_. As if three mutant Benders weren’t enough trouble, now he was going to have the Avatar showing up to arrest him or something. Could this night get any worse?

 

Just as he leaps across to another roof Leo sends a small amount of water out from a pouch on his belt, freezing it under his step to trip him up. Mikey uses a gust of air to propel himself ahead of his path while Leo and Donnie surround him from behind.

 

“It’s over Nightwatcher. Just stand down and no one gets hurt,” Leo ordered as he and his brothers gathered their elements, preparing to fight if needed.

“I don’t want to hurt nobody. I’m just trying to keep this city safe from scum like the Triple Threats.”

“By taking away their Bending?” Leo retorted.

 

_Damn. They did see that part. That’s going to cause a whole lot of problems._

 

Then the Republic City Police chopper appears overhead with a searchlight aimed at him. The cops rappel down to the roof as Master Splinter descends with a burst of air to slow his descent.

 

_As will this._

 

The police force prepared to restrain him with metal cords, but Splinter raised a hand; a silent gesture to ask for a bit of time to talk. Tang Shen nodded toward Splinter, a sign of respect for his judgment and hope that he can end this without needless violence. She then nodded to her officers to order a stand-off. Splinter then looked to his three sons with a look of disappointment.

 

“I will deal with you three later.”

“Aw man! I told you he was going to take over!” Mikey complained.

“Mikey!” his two brothers yelled at him as this was clearly not a time to be complaining.

 

Splinter returned his attentions toward the Nightwatcher, unaware that he was looking at the fourth of his sons.

 

“So, you are the Nightwatcher?” Master Splinter asked.

“That’s just the dumb name your cop friends gave me. I don’t call myself that.”

“Then what do you call yourself?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

 

Splinter’s gaze turns to the vigilante’s hands.

 

“Three fingers. So, you are a mutant then. Fascinating. And surprising considering what I have heard of you.”

“Oh yeah? What have you heard then that’s so surprising?”

“I hear you are a talented Firebender. One prodigious enough to wield a blue flame and who has mastered a skill only known to one other Bender. It puzzles me how you could have so much in common with the Shredder when he-”

“I’M NOTHING LIKE THE SHREDDER!”

“And yet you have just as ferocious a temper as he does,” Splinter replied, enraging Raph enough that he ignites his fists with blue flame in anger at the comparison.

 

The officers seem to tense and ready themselves for action just as Splinter himself does, subtly shifting his feet to a better fighting stance. Raph takes a deep breath and his flames soften to a warm orange tone as he exhales the remaining heat past the holes of his mask in a white flame.

 

“Hm. Perhaps I was wrong. Saki has never been able to control his anger as you have. Nor have I ever seen him wield a white flame before. You are a gifted Bender. Of this I have no doubt. But what you are using it for, stealing the Bending of others is nothing short of a crime and I must insist that you surrender quietly. There need not be any violence tonight.”

“You’re right. There doesn’t need to be any violence. So why don’t you all just walk away and let me go? I ain’t hurting anyone who don’t deserve it. And the worst I do to someone is sever their chi so they can’t Bend no more. Considering what they were doing with it I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. So why should I have to go to jail for trying to stop them when they can just keep getting away with what they’re doing?”

“I see. Well I am sorry to hear you feel that way,” Splinter replied, nodding to signal the cops that they could act now.

 

Tang Shen and her fellow officers threw metal cords at Raph, tangling his arms and legs. They pulled his legs back to force him into a kneeling position as two of the others pulled his arms to his side, completely immobilizing him. Splinter stepped forward only to be stopped by Donnie.

 

“Careful, father. He’s more capable than he looks.”

 

Raph gave a little chuckle at that as his fingers twitched with electrical energy.

 

“He’s right.”

 

He then grabbed the metal cords that were holding his arms and zapped the cops to release him before twisting around to blast at the ones who restrained his legs. As soon as his limbs were free he got back to his feet and found himself being charged at by Splinter. Splinter attempted to strike him at precise points to immobilize him by disrupting his chi but was shocked when they had minimal effect, only causing him to flinch as he kept complete control over his own chi’s flow quite well through his Bending capabilities. Nightwatcher took advantage of Splinter’s surprise at his ability to overcome chi-blocking, by giving him a roundhouse kick before blasting out a ring of bright white fire around himself to keep the others at bay and melt the metal the police sent his way.

 

“Didn’t see that one coming, did ya?” Raph smirked before Bending a column of lightning as he drew the white flames back in on himself, creating a loud crack like thunder and an intense, blinding light.

“Whoooooooa! What was _that_?!” Mikey exclaimed in shock.

“He’s gone,” Leo replied.

“He just disappeared,” _gasp_ , “Like magic!”

“Mikey, he did not disappear using magic. It’s just simple misdirection. You know like magicians do. He can’t have gotten far,” Donnie replied.

“Pfft, you say it wasn’t magic but then you go talking about magicians? Make up your mind, bro.”

“Ugh!” Donnie groaned as he facepalmed hard.

“Father? Is everything alright?” Leo asked Splinter as he noticed the pensive look on his face.

“This Nightwatcher is powerful, possibly even more powerful than the Shredder. Possibly. It seems strange to me that he could possess skills that previously only the Shredder was thought to be capable of when a mutant such as him would sooner be killed by the Shredder rather than taught by him.”

“Which raises the question, how did he figure out the same technique as the Shredder and are they connected somehow?”

“They do seem to have quite a few things in common. But the police and I can focus on uncovering this mystery later,” Splinter said, turning to face his sons.

“Right now, I would like to know what you three were thinking?!” he roared.

“It’s my fault Master Splinter. We used a listening device to eavesdrop on your meeting with Chief Shen and figured out that the pattern might’ve been wrong. It was my idea to go check the Southern District for the Nightwatcher without telling you. I’m sorry, Master,” Leo answered with a bow.

“I see. And what of your other brother Raphael? You said you did not know where he is and I see that he is not with you.”

“Raph didn’t want to get involved in this. I’m assuming he went out for dinner with some friends of his.”

“Raph has friends?!” Mikey asked before being slapped on the back of the head by Donnie.

“Ow!”

* _sigh_ * “I am just glad that none of you were hurt… or stripped of your Bending.”

“Actually he didn’t seem to want to fight us at all. He just took off running when we confronted him and didn’t even use his Bending until you showed up comparing him to Shredder,” Donnie mentioned.

“Nevertheless, I do not want you risking yourselves like this again. We are all going home this instant and you are not to go after the Nightwatcher again. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Master Splinter,” the three turtles said in unison.

“Excellent. Now, let’s just hope that Raphael is there already so that I do not have to ground him as well.”

“Grounded?! You never said we were grounded!” Mikey complained.

“I thought that was obvious. Two weeks, no TV, video games, comic books, or electronics of any kind. If you behave yourselves I may still allow you to attend that Pro-Bending match you are so eager to watch… with me accompanying to keep you out of trouble of course.”

“We’ll be good! I swear! Right guys?” Mikey replied, really anxious about possibly losing the chance to see his favorite Pro-Bending team in action Friday.

“Yeah and who knows? Maybe Raph will change his mind about coming with.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” Leo replied with a knowing smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you guys think of the chapter? Excited for what comes next? Leave a comment down below!


	6. Fire Ferrets vs. Boar-q-pines

Well Friday had finally come and somehow Mikey had managed to remain perfectly behaved long enough for Master Splinter to allow him and his brothers to go to the Pro-Bending match today.

 

“You sure you don’t want to go?” Donnie asked.

“Positive. I’ve got plans anyway,” Raph replied as he grabbed his duffel and headed out the door.

“With those mysterious friends of yours you never told any of us about?”

 

Raph simply rolled his eyes in response and left to prepare for his match.

 

Later, Splinter and his sons took to their seats, excited to watch the Fire Ferrets play against the Black Quarry Boar-q-pines. Mikey was especially anxious to see his favorite team play against one of their toughest competitors, unaware that one of his own brothers would be playing for the Fire Ferrets. Luckily, they had bought a plethora of snacks for him to munch on in anticipation.

 

“It’s starting!” Mikey squealed as the players all took to the arena, including Raph whose helmet kept his face very well hidden to conceal his identity; apparently going by Takeshi as a cover name.

 

As soon as the referee blew the whistle the match took off to a flying start. The Boar-q-pines took the lead quickly with their Earthbender rapidly launching discs at the Fire Ferrets in rapid succession to hit them back a few paces. While the others quickly found themselves knocked back into the second zone, Casey managed to keep from being knocked back through using discs from their own turf to block the opponent’s attacks. However, while that method served well for the first couple of minutes that couldn’t save him for long as the Boar-q-pine’s Airbender sent a particularly strong gust of wind at him that knocked him off his feet and into the second zone allowing their opponents to advance. While the Boar-q-pines couldn’t manage to knock them back any further, the Fire Ferrets weren’t able to recover their lost territory and the round was won by the Boar-q-pines.

 

“Noooo! I demand a rematch!” Mikey shouted.

“Mikey, there’s two more rounds to go,” Donnie reminded him.

“Oh right,” he replied as he sat back in his seat contently.

 

Round two began and the Fire Ferrets were more than determined not to lose another round to these guys. April and Angel took the front using water and air attacks aimed at their opponents’ faces to blind them long enough to give Raph and Casey the chance to knock them back a zone. The Boar-q-pines’ Airbender was having enough of that and sent out a large burst of air to disrupt Angel and April’s attacks and knock Casey back a zone. This earned the Airbender a penalty as the Airbenders aren’t allowed to create blasts of air lasting longer than a second in duration. However, this gave the Boar-q-pines the chance to regain their footing and push the Fire Ferrets back, so they could reclaim the territory they lost. The referee blew the whistle; the round had ended with neither team having gained more territory and thus a tie-breaker was needed.

 

The referee flipped the coin. The Fire Ferrets won the chance to choose the element for the tie-breaker. Casey gave a mischievous smirk to the opposing team’s captain.

 

“We pick fire.”

 

The Boar-q-pines’ captain stepped forward, as did Raph and met to face each other on the center platform. As soon as the referee blew the whistle for the tie-breaker round to begin the Boar-q-pines’ captain instantly wished someone else had been chosen for the match as he found himself unable to lay a hit on Raph who simply waved any flames away with ease no matter how rapid his attacks were. His opponent then tried to tackle him but Raph simply stepped aside to dodge before grabbing him and spinning them around so that the opposing Firebender was backstepping toward the edge of the platform where he attempted to regain his balance. Raph then stepped toward him as he did and flicked at his forehead to make him fall off.

 

“YEAH! GO TAKESHI! WOOOOOOO!” Mikey shouted with glee as the Fire Ferrets were declared the winner of the second round.

 

“Piece of cake,” Raph said, fist-bumping Casey as he stepped back onto the regular platform.

“Like any of us had any doubt,” Angel retorted.

 

 

“Man, he’s good,” Leo remarked, genuinely surprised at how effortless Raph made the tie-breaker match seem.

“Well duh! That’s what I’ve been saying bro. Takeshi’s the best Firebender in the circuit. That’s why the Fire Ferrets always pick him for tiebreakers.”

 

The Boar-q-pines’ captain growled in anger at his defeat as his teammates helped him up.

 

“Whatever you do, make damn sure you get that no good Firebender knocked off the platform in the next round. Got it?”

“Got it,” the other three Boar-q-pines agreed.

 

The third and final round began, and the Boar-q-pines took to forcing Raph apart from his team by launching different attacks between them. This gave them plenty of room to single him out for their attacks. Raph didn’t have any problem defending himself from the Firebender’s assaults but given how he was holding back it was difficult to properly defend from those of the Water and Airbender.

 

“Guys, they’re going after Raph. We need to knock some of these guys off before they knock him off,” Casey mentioned with April and Angel nodding in response.

 

Angel then gathered up a huge ball of water before launching it at the Boar-q-pines’ Waterbender, causing them to be knocked off the platform by the force of the water as well as the Airbender who was caught in the wake of the attack and fell off as well. Then the whistle blew.

 

“What? The rules only say you have to use single second bursts. Never said anything about how much water you could use,” Angel reminded the ref who took out the rule book to confirm before groaning in acknowledgement and nodding.

 

Needless to say the Boar-q-pines were not pleased by this sudden turn in events, especially their captain who only became even more angry at Raph despite this being Angel and April’s doing.

 

“Knock. Him. Off!”

 

The Boar-q-pines’ Earthbender agreed with his captain and launched a disc directly at Raph’s head, against the rules. While this didn’t knock him off the platform it did do well to dislodge his helmet from his head and give him one hell of a headache.

 

“Not so tough no are ya? Huh?” the Boar-q-pines’ captain retorted smugly despite the penalty his teammate just earned.

 

Raph raised his head and everyone could tell there was a mutant under there.

 

“RAPH?!” Mikey and Donnie exclaimed in unison as they jumped out of their seats to get a better look.

“What? No, that’s not Raph. That’s just a… uh…”

“You knew?!” Donnie asked his older brother.

“Dude! Why didn’t Raph tell us he was this awesome?”

“He had his reasons. Reasons that I cannot tell you about unfortunately.”

“We will discuss this later,” Splinter mentioned, glaring at his eldest.

 

Meanwhile, down on the platform, Casey was taking them time to check on Raph after getting his head hit pretty hard.

 

“Dude are you okay?”

“Yeah I’m fine. I just-”

“He’s a FREAK! He’s one of them stinkin’ mutants,” the opposing Firebender shouted.

“Uh-oh,” Casey remarked.

“Freak? FREAK?!” Raph responded in anger as his fists lighted up with a blue flame.

 

“A blue flame? Did you know he could do that?” Donnie asked Leo.

“I… did not… actually.”

“Whoa, wait a minute does this mean Raph is the Nightwatcher?” Mikey inquired.

“It does seem likely, doesn’t it?” Splinter replied, pondering the very same question himself.

 

Raph stood, looking prepared to attack the guy who just calmed a freak when Casey stepped in his way.

 

“No dude. You need to calm down. You’re angry and I get that. But if you lose your temper here in front of all these people, if you act like the monster guys like him, guys like the _Shredder_ , think you are then you’ll only give them an excuse to say that they’re right. Do you want this jerk to be right? Do you want the _Shredder_ to be right?”

 

Raph’s flame died down to a softer orange as he exhaled a white flame while calming down. He then gave Casey a small nod and a smirk to which his best friend stepped aside. Casey and Raph then doubled down on the Firebender, hitting him multiple times in the gut as April and Angel focused their attentions on the Earthbender. Just as the two enemy Benders were at the edge of the platform, Casey launched discs at both the Earthbender and Firebender’s faces to finish the match with a win for their team.

 

The Fire Ferrets were just about to celebrate their victory when Raph remembered who all was sitting in the cheering section. He looked up to where his family was sitting and took off from the arena, knowing he was going to be in a world of trouble for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of the chapter? Was the way Splinter and the others learned of Raph's double life exciting or did it fall flat? Let me know what you thought down below!


	7. Questions and Lies

Raph was just getting out of his gear when his teammates joined him, along with the team’s manager/Future Industries’ top engineer, Harold Lillja, a non-Bender but brilliant scientist and sports strategist whose game plans have gotten them the win on more than one occasion.

 

“Okay, so that third round was sort of… meh, but hey at least you got the win. That’s something, right?” Harold said in an attempt to cheer up the grumpy turtle.

“Yeah, it’s great. Ya know what would’ve been better? If nobody saw my face out there. Now the whole world knows that a mutant Firebending Turtle is part of the Future Industries Fire Ferrets and that I’m in Republic City. Do you know how many dangerous people could find me now?”

“Listen, dude, I get that you’re scared, especially since he-who-must-not-be-named is like the most dangerous guy ever, but just because he might come for you later doesn’t mean you can’t take a minute to celebrate your win tonight. He could be halfway across the world right now for all we know. Even if he saw the broadcast, which I doubt he would’ve, it would take him a good while before he got here. So relax, bro,” Casey said, wrapping an arm around Raph’s shoulders as he tried to put him at ease.

“Yeah, bro,” Mikey said as he and the rest of their family entered the room, “and speaking of… WHAT THE HECK, DUDE?! Why didn’t you tell us you were a Pro-Bender?”

“I’m sorry but this is a private area. You can’t just-”

“It’s alright Harold, they’re Raph’s family,” April mentioned.

“Oh. Okay then. Uhh, what’s his problem?” he asked of Donnie who was staring at him slack-jawed.

 

Mikey gave his brother a nudge, pulling him out of his dazed state.

 

“You’re Harold Lillja. _The_ Harold Lillja. You’re one of the greatest scientific minds of the twenty-first century! Your work with anti-grav technology is mind-blowing. And is it true that you’re working on a new android bodyguard system?”

“I’m afraid that information is classified,” Harold replied, adjusting his eyeglasses before peering over them with a smirk, “but yes, yes I am. I actually based the design off of Raphael here, and to a lesser extent, the rest of the Fire Ferrets as well. It’s designed to look like a turtle, but it has Bending capabilities at the same levels as these four… or at least it’s supposed to. I’m still working out the kinks with getting the machine to Bend properly.”

“Classified, huh?” Angel teased.

“Alright so I lied. It makes things sound more important than they are. Sue me. Actually you know what, don’t sue me. I’m still trying to recover after my divorce.”

“A robot turtle with Bending capabilities. That… is… awesome.”

“Donnie. Focus,” Leo reminded him.

“Right. Yeah. Sorry.”

“So, exactly how much trouble am I in?” Raph asked Splinter.

“That depends on a few things. Such as, why did you lie about your Bending skills, why did you keep your Pro-Bending secret, and are you the Nightwatcher?”

“I lied about how good I was because I’ve got a few enemies that would’ve found me by now if word got out that there was a mutant turtle with amazing Firebending skills in Republic City and I kept my Pro-Bending a secret because it would’ve undermined the whole ‘I stink at Bending’ thing if you knew I played the sport. And I ain’t the Nightwatcher! Why would you even think that in the first place?”

“We saw you Bend that blue flame, Raph. And we saw you use that same technique when you were calming down that the Nightwatcher used the other night. You know, the one where you breathed out a white flame?” Leo replied.

“I didn’t breathe a white flame. You were just seeing things.”

“So we all saw things then? Bending a blue flame is rare enough. The fact that I have seen two individuals do so is incredible enough as it is, to suggest that I have witnessed three such individuals is next to impossible. Especially considering two of those breathed a white flame when controlling their tempers, which is so rare it was unheard of until the other night. Do you really expect me to believe that you could have both Bending and a temper in common with this Nightwatcher without you being one and the same?” Splinter asked.

“Yeah because in case you haven’t noticed I never took away no one’s Bending before.”

“Took away one’s- what like the Shre-” Harold was about to say before being shut down by the simultaneous glares of all four Fire Ferrets.

“Ehe-and I’m just going to stop talking now before I say something I’ll regret.”

“Good choice,” Casey said with a glare.

“Look, who cares if Raph’s the Nightwatcher or not? It’s not like the Nightwatcher was really hurting anybody and he stopped a bunch of bad guys from breaking some poor guy’s store. He’s kind of like a superhero. And anyway can’t we all just agree that Raph is AWESOME?! I mean did you see him out there in that ring? Dude, I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on us and-”

“Mikey, just because Raph is a great Pro-Bender doesn’t mean he can just go around taking people’s Bending and absolutely none of _that_ makes him anything like a superhero,” Donnie insisted.

“Says you.”

“Look, my head hurts, and I’d really rather not deal with any of this right now. I’m outta here.”

 

With that Raph picked up an ice pack and pressed it against his head before moving toward the door, only to be halted by Master Splinter.

 

“Can you move, please?”

“No. Not until you have explained yourself. How do you know how to sever one’s connection to their Bending? Who taught you this method?”

“No one taught me anything because I ain’t the Nightwatcher. You’ve got the wrong guy.”

“I very much doubt that to be true.” * _sigh_ * “I will give you one more chance to tell us everything you have kept from us and explain yourself. But if you do not tell me the truth I will have no choice but to take this to Chief Shen and have her interrogate you herself. Though I would much rather it not have to come to that.”

“So you’d turn me over to the cops and have them interrogate me the same way they would a common low-life just because you don’t believe that what I’m telling you right now is the truth?” * _scoff_ * “Some father you are,” Raph said as he pushed past Master Splinter to leave the room and head back to the temple.

“He didn’t mean that, father,” Leo tried to reassure him.

 

He really didn’t. He’s had a bad father before. The absolute worst. And Master Splinter was nothing like him. Not at all. Raph sure could say some hurtful things when he got defensive. Not like he could help being defensive all that much. He’d spent most of his life on the streets or trying not to get killed. Survival was practically burned into his DNA at this point and if Splinter tried to get the truth about how he knows how to Bend so well out of him not only would that put him in danger, but it would put this new family of his in peril too. He couldn’t admit to being the Nightwatcher without making it even more difficult to separate himself from his past. There’d be too many questions, too many painful memories coming back up, too much pain, fear, and rejection if the truth of who he used to be came to light. No. He couldn’t handle that if they knew. Splinter, Leo, Donnie, Mikey, they were his family. If they knew, if they rejected him for it, if they saw him as much of a monster as the last person he called family had… no. No. That wasn’t going to happen. Not on his… Oh _crap_.

 

As soon as he opened the door to Splinter’s temple, there he was, his old foe and the one who taught him how to Bend lightning even better than the man he used to call father.

 

“Hiya, Raphie. How’ve you been?” Old Hob asked with a sinister grin and claws lit up with an electrical charge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought down below! Comments are always responded to and appreciated.


	8. Old Hob

“Hob,” Raph said, closing the temple door behind him, “So, I’m guessing you’ve been in Republic City awhile to have found me so fast.”

“Yeah, had a bit of business to attend to the past few months,” Hob said, taking slow steps forward while making the lightbulbs all burst as he overloaded them.

 

Did he really think Raph was going to fall for that trick? Just because he could use it to intimidate just about everyone else he crossed paths with doesn’t mean Raph couldn’t see right through him.

 

“Imagine my surprise when I turn on the TV and see your face plastered all over the screen at a Pro-Bending tournament. Wasn’t hard after that to pick up a lead as to where you been hiding out at. Though I gotta admit, didn’t think I’d find you living with the Avatar.”

“Uh-huh.” * _sigh_ * “You know how this is going to end, right? It’s going to end with me kicking your butt and you walking out of here with your tail between your legs.”

“Well aren’t we all smug and confident now? Guess you take more after your old man than just your temper and Bending skills.”

 

Raph’s temper finally got the better of him. He lashed out at Hob with a stream of blue flames. The alley cat dodged the attack and retaliated with a burst of lightning aimed at Raph. Luckily, he was able to divert most of the energy away, but Hob always was the better Lightning Bender, and so he did take at least some of the electricity on. Raph charged at him, trying to hit him with more of his blue flames to no avail. Hob may be an old cat but that didn’t make him any less agile. As soon as Raph got close he was just about to use his technique to take away the cat’s Bending when suddenly, a wave of rock and rubble came at him, knocking him away from Hob.

 

“You didn’t think I’d come alone, did ya?” Hob asked as his two associates stepped out of the shadows.

“Bebop. Rocksteady. Good to see you guys again. Haven’t seen you guys since Ba Sing Se. Have you lost weight? Get your tusks whitened?”

“Flattery. Cute. Ain’t it cute, Rocksteady?”

“You know it, Bebop. But cute ain’t gonna save his sorry shell after what he pulled last time we saw him.”

“You mean when I torched the abandoned building to the ground, burying you in a pile of rubble, so I could escape without getting flattened like a pancake? What? Come on guys that was just a… a harmless prank. Come on, I knew you could take it,” Raph said, backing up against the wall as the rhino and wart hog approached him.

“Yeah, sure you did. Let’s get him!” Rocksteady yelled as he and Bebop charged at Raph.

 

Luckily his family showed up at just the right time and he found himself getting blasted into the air and out of danger by Mikey, before landing safely near the door with the others.

 

“What are you guys doing here?!”

“Uh, we live here?” Leo replied.

“So, who are your friends?” Donnie asked as he started Bending pieces of metal in preparation to fight.

“They ain’t friends and you all need to leave. Like right now.”

“I’d listen to him if I were you. Raphie might not be the sharpest tool in the shed but he does know when to run like a coward when he knows there ain’t no winning to be had,” Hob remarked.

“Coward?!”

“Yeah, just a little scaredy turtle. Ya ran from Ba Sing Se and no doubt you’ll be running from this city too,” Bebop replied as he covered his fists in rocks.

“Yeah, just like you always run. Even when you were just a newbie mutant you just ran and ran, trying to get away from the big, bad-” Rocksteady added before being blasted at with a large wave of blue flame by Raph that knocked him away; luckily his hide was thick enough to not be too badly burned.

 

Bebop then charged at him. Donnie attempted to knock him away by throwing a large piece of the concrete floor at him, but Bebop just ran right through it.

 

“Move!” Raph insisted as his family dodged the charging wart hog.

 

Rocksteady then got back on his feet and stomped his foot to send a shockwave through the floor toward Leo and Mikey. Mikey used his Airbending to dodge the attack, but Leo got hit and was sent flying into a column, hard, and Mikey took to trying to help him out and get him back on his feet. Splinter took to using his own Earthbending skills to counter both Bebop and Rocksteady’s attacks alongside Donatello who was struggling to avoid the charging rhino’s horn. Meanwhile, Raph took it upon himself to face Hob solo. He might not be as good at Bending lightning as Hob was but that didn’t mean he couldn’t handle that wretched cat, especially if he got close enough to hit his pressure points. That might not be as good as severing one’s chi, but chi-blocking does do good enough to immobilize someone, especially if you’re trying not to get outed to the only family you ever really had.

 

“Why don’t you just give it up, Raphie? You might be good at Bending fire but you ain’t got nothin’ on me when it comes to lightning,” Hob said as he shot out electricity at the turtle as he got closer.

“How long have we known each other, Hob? Ten years and you still don’t know that I ain’t the giving up type?” Raph replied as he got up close and personal to the cat, being careful to avoid his electrically charged claws as he tried to get a hit in.

 

That’s when Mikey noticed Hob’s tail was charging up and about to reach out and zap Raph. Mikey wasn’t going to let that no good cat hurt his brother!

 

“Raph!” Mikey shouted as he pushed Raph out of the way just in time to save him… though not himself.

“MIKEY!” Raph screamed as he saw the large volts of electricity pass through the younger turtle he had come to know as his brother.

 

This gained the attention of the others, including Leo, who was finally awake. Splinter was enraged at the sight of his youngest son injured and quickly ended the battle with Rocksteady and Bebop by entering the Avatar State to defeat them.

 

“I… I don’t sense a heartbeat,” Donnie mentioned, eyes full of fear as he used his seismic sense to try and tell if Mikey was still alive.

 

Raph lost his cool again. This time he didn’t care if he exposed himself to his family. Hob was going to PAY!

 

Raph rushed at Hob and began to channel his chi, making the cat’s veins glow at the various, swift motions he performed before finally striking him hard in the chest, knocking him to the ground as the light of his Bending went out like a blown-out match.

 

“What? Did you just- no. No. NO!” Hob roared before being struck down by a blast of lightning from Raph himself, knocking him into the far-off wall.

 

The blast might not have killed him, but just because he deserved it doesn’t mean Raph was ever going to resort to tactics like that, tactics like the ones his- the ones _he_ used all the time. No. Raph was better than _him_ , better than Hob. He wasn’t like them. Not at all.

 

“I can’t believe it. Mikey’s really-” Leo said, trying not to burst out into tears, praying that they were wrong.

 

Then Raph knelt beside Mikey’s body and took a deep breath. His hands lit with electrical energy and he breathed into them with a white flame, leaving his hands with a bright, white glow. He pressed his fingers into various pressure points on Mikey’s body causing them to become lit with the same light and spread out through his nerves. After pressing the last pressure point, Raphael raised his hands and brought them both down over Mikey’s heart with a burst of lightning emanating as he did. Mikey bolted upright with a gasp.

 

“He’s alive? He’s alive! Mikey!” Donnie exclaimed as he ran over to Mikey with Leo to join the hug that was going on.

“Uh… did I… die?”

“It’s okay, little brother. You’re okay now. Everything’s going to be okay,” Raph answered as he held Mikey tight, tears streaming down his face.

 

He almost lost his brother tonight, and it was all his fault. His eyes raised to meet Splinter’s as the rat knelt to join the group hug. Though Splinter’s eyes may have been soft, full of relief, and a silent promise to forgive whatever he may have done as the Nightwatcher, Raph couldn’t help the knot that formed in his stomach. He didn’t deserve forgiveness. He didn’t even deserve this family.

 

“I’m really going to miss you guys,” he said before pulling away from the hug.

“Raph?” Mikey asked.

“Wait, where are you going?” Leo added.

“Raphael, stop!” Splinter insisted as his son ignored him and sent out a circle of immense, white flames and Bent a column of lightning around himself

“I’m sorry,” he said with a remorseful look on his face as he drew the white fire back in on himself with a loud crack and blinding light as he disappeared without a trace.

 

He was sorry for leaving them behind, but he had some work to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I found a way to include Bebop and Rocksteady after all. YAY! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! next one's coming soon. Let me know what you thought down below!


	9. Interrogation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a few days since the last update! I had four days off from work in a row (slow business=cut in hours) and so getting back into the swing of things has made it hard to stay as regular as I have been. Hope you enjoy this chapter! And the surprise twist (or at least I'm hoping it's a surprise) that comes along with it.

About an hour after Raph took off, Hob found himself waking up in an interrogation room with Tang Shen and Master Splinter there as well. He tried to Bend in order to escape but remembered he lost that ability because of Raphie, the traitor. Nevertheless, his hands were encased in Firebender-proof cuffs. Guess the rat and his turtle brats didn’t mention what Raphie could do to the cops.

 

“So, according to your arrest records you go by Old Hob, is that correct?” Shen asked him.

“No, I’m the Fire Lord, ‘course my name’s Old Hob. It’s what I’ve gone by ever since I turned into a cat.”

“No need to get snippy. It’s just a question, and not even one of the more important ones.”

“Such as?”

“How do you know my son?” Splinter inquired.

“You’ll have to be more specific. From what I saw you got three brats who-”

“I have FOUR SONS! I asked you of Raphael, the Firebender who bested you in a fight this evening. How do you know him?” Splinter asked angrily, slamming his hand down onto the table.

“Oh! Raphie. Sorry, considering what I know of his real pops I didn’t even think he’d consider you his daddy. My mistake,” Hob said with a smirk.

“I _am_ his real father. The man who brought him into this world was cruel and tried to murder him for a form he never asked to possess. He was _no father_.”

“Oh, so Raphie told you about him? Funny. He didn’t even tell me the whole time I knew him. I figured it out for myself, though. I’m smart like that.”

“Smart like those blockheads you pal around with?” Shen retorted.

“Hey, muscle’s muscle. It don’t gotta have brains to back it up long as the brawn can more than make up for it. And believe me, with how much like tanks those two are, they can.”

“Enough of this. I asked you a question and you have still not answered it. How… do you know… my son?”

“Raphie and I go way back. Back near the mutation event itself. I found him digging through trash in the Fire Nation for something to eat. Saw a couple of punks try to hassle him for being a mutant. He looked scared, but I wasn’t going to do nothing. Not my problem. But then I saw him Bend a blue flame and shoot it at the big one.”

“A blue flame? Like the Nightwatcher?” Shen asked, glaring at Splinter.

“Raphael is not the vigilante.”

“I’m sorry, vigilante? Nightwatcher? What the hell are you two talking about?”

 

Tang Shen turned her attention back to the cat with a groan, not wanting to mention the vigilante case but figuring it might actually get her some answers.

 

“There’s been a vigilante Firebender wandering the streets of Republic City, stripping Triple Threats of their Bending with the same technique the Shredder uses.”

“Oh. Then it is Raphie. After all, I didn’t lose my Bending by some freak accident, now did I?”

“You lost your Bending?”

“He’s lying.”

“No I ain’t. Now can I get back to my story? Thank you. Now, where was I? Oh right. So anyway, I stopped to watch what he was doing and saw this freaking 5-year-old pulling off techniques that I didn’t even learn ‘til I was in my teens. Sent those jerks running. Can you imagine? Four or five punks in their twenties running scared of a little kid. Figured there was something special about the twerp, so I took him and gave him something to eat. He told me about his old man and how he tried to kill him for turning into a mutant, but that he was also the one who taught him all those fancy moves he was using back in the alley. I figured with as good as this kid was he could be a useful asset to have around. Taught him a few things about Bending lightning to boot. Had him help me pull a few heists throughout the Fire Nation. But then the heat got too bad so we made our move on the Earth Republic instead. That’s where I recruited Bebop and Rocksteady for some added muscle. But Raphie? Raphie was getting sick of always having to be a criminal and tried to leave. I didn’t like that. I tried to convince him to stay by saying that he needed me to protect him from his old man. When he realized I knew who his daddy was, he got tense, angry even. He figured it out pretty quick that I was just using him that whole time. We fought. He ran. End of story really. Not much more to tell.”

“Uh-huh,” Shen said with a contemplative look on her face.

 

Splinter noticed and was a tad concerned.

 

“Shen?”

“You kept mentioning Raphael’s biological father as if he was somehow important,” Tang Shen replied.

“Course he’s important. Oh wait a minute. Wait a minute,” Hob said laughing, “You _don’t_ know, do you? I was figuring with how angry the rat here got when I referred to the Shredhead as Raphie’s daddy that you must’ve known who he was. Guess I was wrong.”

“The Shredhead? Do you mean… Are you saying that Shredder is-”

“No! That’s a lie! Raphael is not the Shredder’s son! They are nothing alike!” Splinter shouted, getting close to Hob’s face to scowl at him with seething rage.

“Nothing alike?” Hob asked before bursting out laughing.

“I’m sorry have you met Raph? Not only does he got just as bad a temper as Shredder has but he’s just as good a Bender too, maybe even better. I mean sure, there’s plenty of people out there with tempers but how many do you know who can Bend a blue flame and sever someone’s ability to Bend at all? I’m sure there’s other things those two have in common. ‘Course I never met Shredder. _You_ have though, right? After all, you’ve known Shredder since you was kids and you seem to know Raphie pretty well despite the gaps in your knowledge of his family history. You really going to tell me they don’t have more things in common? Similar likes? Similar dislikes? Pet peeves, nothing?”

 

Splinter’s glare intensified before softening a bit in resignation.

 

“Yeah. That’s what I thought. You might think you’re Raphie’s daddy, but he hasn’t forgotten where he’s from or who taught him how to Bend so good. You might’ve given him a home and a nice, happy family… but _Shredder_? _Oroku Saki_? … He’s the one who made him what he is. Ain’t nothing you can do to change that. He may be a part of this little family you made for yourself… but he’ll always be _Oroku Raphael_ deep down inside. He’ll always be the Shredder’s son; an angry but talented Firebender who can’t be stopped. Believe me, I’ve tried. In both instances.”

“Both instances?” Shen inquired.

“I didn’t just recruit Bebop and Rocksteady ‘cause I needed some goons to help me commit crimes or nothing. No, if the old Shredhead wants a fight, then I’m taking the fight to him. I got a whole mutant army set up to take the maniac down. That’s why I’m in Republic City; to recruit more mutants… and to go to war. Don’t know if you know this but Shredder’s in town. Has been for a few months just biding his time for the perfect moment to strike.”

“Shredder’s been this close all this time?” Shen asked out of shock.

“We have to prepare a search. We cannot let Shredder evade justice again.”

“‘Course since Raphie made a big scene at that Pro-Bending tournament, you probably won’t even have to worry about him for a while.”

“What are you talking about?” Splinter asked, curious where Hob was going with this.

“This is the Shredder we’re talking about. You really think he’s going to let his _mutant_ son go walking around all able to tell people they’re related and ruin his rep?”

“He’ll have the Foot Clan kill him just to keep this secret. Where is he?” Shen asked Splinter.

“I… do not know. He ran away after the fight with Hob and his associates was over.”

“Then we have to find him. Preferably before Shredder does.”

“Good luck with that. Raphie’s real good at disappearing when he wants to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought down below! Did any of you guess Raph's biggest secret? ;-)


	10. The Shredder

Hob wasn’t the only one who knew that Shredder had been in Republic City for months. Raph had taken to perfecting his Firebending technique, especially the one needed to sever a person’s Bending because he knew that with his- with Shredder so close, it would only be a matter of time before he ran into him again. And he was going to be damned sure he was ready. Now that he had finally mastered the technique Shredder showed him all those years ago, now that he had developed his Bending even past the point of the dreaded Oroku Saki, he was finally ready to face him.

 

He donned his Nightwatcher gear and tracked him and his Foot Clan to an old, abandoned Future Industries warehouse. He knew he couldn’t take on Shredder and the Foot Clan all at once, but he knew the Foot would no doubt be heading out soon to spread fear and panic in the streets. That was Shredder’s M.O. after all. He’d lay low in a city for a few months at a time, getting a lay of the land and its people before striking at the perfect time. He would’ve had a couple more weeks but knowing the Shred-head, he’d no doubt be sending his little soldiers out after him after the Pro-Bending fiasco the other night. As soon as the Foot Clan left to search for him, the Shredder would be all alone and raph could make his move.

 

He was ready. He was. Ready to fight, ready to beat him, ready to take his Bending forever so that he could never harm another person. But was he ready to actually face him? The man that taught him almost everything about his Bending, the man that brought him into the world, the man that tried to kill him, who ran him out of their home for being a mutant, who still haunts his nightmares. Was he ready for that? Maybe he wasn’t, maybe he could never be truly ready but it was now or never. It all came down to this moment. It was just going to be him and-

 

“RAPH!” Mikey shouted with glee as he and their brothers showed up on the roof across from the warehouse, before rushing up to him in a hug.

“Mikey? Guys? What are you doing here?! How did you find me?”

“Hob told Splinter and Shen where Shredder was hiding out at and while they were busy organizing a team to take out the Foot Clan’s base we just decided to come here and get you ourselves,” Leo explained.

“Of course Hob knew Shredder was here. Typical. Look, you guys need to get out of here. I got this.”

“You got this? Really? You actually expect us to believe that you, as good a Bender as you are, can take on Shredder _and_ the Foot Clan? No offense but that’s about the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Donnie replied.

“Oh I agree,” a female voice piped up from the shadows before stepping out into the moonlight.

“And who the heck are you?” Raph asked.

“I’m Karai. Oroku Karai, the Shredder’s daughter.”

“Shredder’s daughter? Wait so Raph has a sister? Dude, why didn’t you tell us you had a sister?” Mikey asked.

“My sis- You… you know?”

“Well lookie here. Seems like I’ve just added another three turtles to my kill list. Oh well, the Foot Clan was going to exterminate you filthy mutants anyway,” Karai said before pulling water out of her backpack and launching razor-sharp ice shards at the turtles.

 

Leo used his own Waterbending to divert the ice away from his brothers but soon found himself having to pull the discarded ice in to form a shield as he blocked the ice blades Karai had formed on her forearms. She kept trying to slice at him, to no avail before being blasted at by Raph, causing her to backflip out of the way and right behind Donnie where she held her icy blade at his throat.

 

“One move and the tall one gets it.”

 

The others took a step back in fear of what Karai might do to Donnie if they didn’t.

 

“Good choice. Now, you are all going to come with me and you will be executed by the Shredder. If you do not agree with these terms than I can just kill you myself. Though I know my father was looking forward to killing Raphael himself,” Karai said with a smirk, causing Raph’s fists to ball up tightly with a white flame.

“Unh-unh,” Karai reminded him before nicking a small spot on Donnie’s throat.

 

Raph let the flame die out with a grunt of indignation.

 

“Good call. Now follow me!” Karai said harshly as she pulled Donnie toward the stairwell.

 

She led them into the dark warehouse where the turtles were quickly ambushed and bound in handcuffs, before forcing them to kneel. The lights came on to reveal the Shredder standing at the front of the room.

 

“Leave us!” Shredder roared at his Foot soldiers.

 

They bowed and rushed out of the room, all except for Karai, who hadn’t been kept in the dark on why Raph was now public enemy number one in Shredder’s eyes. Shredder slowly approached the turtles, stopping only when he came little more than a foot away from Raphael. He then turned his head to Karai.

 

“Remove his mask.”

“Yes, father,” Karai said with a bow before obliging with her master’s orders.

 

Raph glared at his former father with an intense, burning hatred.

 

“Raphael.”

“Shredder.”

“I’ve noticed your technique has improved greatly since last I saw you. I’d be impressed if I weren’t so disgusted with your mutation. A pity. You could’ve been a great Oroku had Professor Stockman not disfigured you so.”

“He didn’t disfigure me. Mutants aren’t an abomination like you seem to think. And I would never have made a great Oroku, because there’s no such thing as-”

“BITE YOUR TONGUE, YOU INSOLENT WHELP!” Shredder roared as he gave a fiery backhand to Raphael across the face, leaving a burn mark on his cheek.

“RAPH!” his brothers cried out.

“Pathetic. Disgraceful. How you could ever have come from my bloodline is beyond me. Fortunately, no one shall ever have to know of what a blight you have made to the Oroku name. Tonight shall be your last.”

 

Shredder then grabbed Raph’s head pushing it back as he lit the tips of his two fingers under Raph’s chin with blue flame.

 

“Any final words before I end your miserable existence?” he asked the boy he once saw as a son.

“I challenge you to an Agni Kai.”

“A what?!” Leo exclaimed.

“He can’t be serious,” Donnie said in unison.

“Uhhh what’s an Agni Kai?” Mikey asked.

“An Agni Kai is a traditional duel between Firebenders, meant to restore honor when one is disgraced,” Leo explained quietly as they awaited Shredder’s response.

 

Saki contemplated the challenge for a moment.

 

“Exactly what dishonor do you think you have to defend? _You_ are the disgrace. _You_ are the one who has dishonored me.”

“All the more reason for you to accept isn’t it? How about this; I win you can use your Firebending to kill me, but they go free, allowed to live out the rest of their natural lives without being in danger of being killed by you, your family, or your Foot Clan.”

“And if I win?”

“If you win you can still kill all of us if you want but my brothers get a five-minute head start to try and run for their lives. Either way you get to kill me. And let’s face it, even with a five-minute head start my brothers would still probably wind up dead. So what do you say? We have a deal?”

“Raph, don’t do this,” Donnie insisted.

“Bro, this is crazy!” Mikey agreed.

“I accept the challenge.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Excited for the next chapter? Anxious to see who wins? Let me know what you thought down below! Comments would totally be great.


	11. The Agni Kai

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since the last update. First I had a funeral to go to, then I had to get settled back in at college and so, in honor of my first day of classes in my senior year I decided to post the final chapter tonight. Hope you enjoy!

Shredder and Raph took to their places on either side of the large room, backs turned to one another as Shredder removed his helmet and set it aside.

 

“This is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy,” Mikey kept repeating in a panic.

“Quiet, wretch!” Karai ordered, pelting him with a ball of water.

 

Shredder and Raph turned to face each other, dropping the ceremonial shoulder garments, leaving their torsos bare.

 

“Why are they shirtless?” Mikey asked.

“It’s tradition. An Agni Kai ends whenever one combatant burns the other. Being shirtless gives them a better chance at that,” Donnie explained before leaning closer to Mikey to add in a whisper, “Though considering Raph can’t remove his shell, I think he’s got a slight advantage.”

“Quiet!” Karai shouted before striking the gong to begin the duel.

 

Immediately, Shredder lashed out with a stream of blue flame that Raph struggled to divert around himself as he charged at the man he formerly saw as his father. As soon as he was close enough, Raph struck out with lightning that nearly hit Shredder in the face had he not backed away fast enough. Saki retaliated with precise jets of flame, all of which Raph managed to channel away from his body and back toward Shredder. Not that he actually managed to hit Saki with any of the flames as the elder Firebender was too quick.

 

“Why won’t you burn?!” Shredder roared as Raph’s continued evasion of fire started to wear on his nerves, shooting a massive burst of blue fire at his son.

“Because,” Raph said, parting the flames like the freaking Red Sea in one fell swoop before generating a white flame in each of his hands, “you can’t beat me.”

 

Raph stepped menacingly toward Shredder with his hands held up at his sides. Shredder backed away slowly in fear, eyes wide at the sight.

 

“Impossible. The white flame was prophesized to belong to only the most-”

“Most powerful Firebender to ever live. I know. I remember you telling me our ancestor’s stupid prophecy every night when I was a kid. I remember you bragging about how one day, one day you would unlock its secrets and prove to everyone that you were truly the best there ever was. Well, _father_ , how does it feel to know you were wrong?” Raph asked as he backed Saki into a wall.

 

Raph put out his flames and began to strike Shredder the same way he had done to the likes of the Triple Threat Triad and Old Hob in the past. With a final strike to snuff out the light of his Bending, Shredder was brought to his knees. Finally snapping out of the daze seeing the white flame had put him in Shredder looked down at his hands, realizing what had just happened.

 

“No. NO!” he screamed, trying to punch Raph only to be blasted back with a white flame, leaving an impressive scorch mark on his torso.

“YES!” Mikey and Donnie shouted.

“GO RAPH!” Leo added.

“The Agni Kai has ended. I won,” Raph said as Karai helped Shredder to his feet.

 

Saki and Karai growled in anger at the defeat.

 

“Now release my family. That was the deal. Or does the great and powerful Shredder have so little honor that he’d go back on his word?”

“Release them,” Shredder growled at Karai.

“But father-”

“Insolent child,” Shredder interrupted by taking his adoptive daughter by the throat, “I said release the freaks!”

 

He released his grip on her as she coughed in air.

 

“Yes, father,” she replied with a bow before using razor-sharp blades of water to cut the turtles free of their ropes.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Leo said, walking toward Raph.

“Not so fast!” Karai shouted, lashing out with a water whip.

“Hey!” Mikey shouted.

“What gives? Raph won, we go home,” Donnie added.

“Wrong, turtle. The deal was that if Raphael won the three of you would go free, but he still has to die by Master Shredder’s hands. That was the agreement.”

“Check the fine print, princess. The deal was that if I win Shredder could use his Firebending to kill me. And uh, doesn’t seem like he has that anymore, does he?” Raph reminded her with a smirk.

“You, cheating, no-good, traitorous wretch!” Shredder screamed, lunging at Raph who caught his fist.

“I’m the traitor?” Raph snarled before headbutting his former father.

“You try to kill your own son when he was five, _FIVE_ , and you have the nerve to say I betrayed you?!” he screamed, punching the man in the face.

“Father!” Karai shouted, attempting to attack with her Waterbending only for Leo, Donnie, and Mikey to come to Raph’s defense.

 

Donnie pulled metal from the room to launch at Karai. Mikey shot out at her with bursts of air. When Karai tried to slice through them with shards of ice, Leo took control of the ice and sent it back at her, grazing her arm.

 

“Thanks guys,” Raph said over his shoulder to his brothers, “See that’s what real families do. They stand up for each other,” _punch_ , “They stick together,” _punch_ , “Families care for one another,” _punch_ , “They don’t hurt them. They don’t attack them. They don’t call them freaks or monsters,” _punch, punch, punch_ , “They love each other. They _love_ each other!” he screamed, slamming Shredder into a wall by the throat as he glared at him with fury in his eyes.

“You were my _father_ …” he said, eyes watering and threatening to spill over, “You were supposed to _love_ me, to _raise_ me, to _protect_ me from anyone who would try to hurt me and instead you made me feel pain and anger and _fear_ from before I can even remember! You were the monster lurking in the shadows, the boogeyman in my nightmares, the thing that kept me up at night. You made me fear for my life when I was just a child for something that happened to me, something I never asked for, something I couldn’t have changed even if I wanted to,” he shouted as the Shredder struggled to free himself from Raph’s grasp.

“And you know something?” he asked in a quieter tone with a shake of his head, “I don’t want to change it anymore. Maybe I did when I was little and still convinced by everything you had told me when I ran for my life that _I_ was the monster. But now? Now that I’ve found a family, a mutant family that cares about me, that loves and protects me like they’re doing right now?” he asked gesturing to his brothers that were still fighting Karai over his shoulder.

“I wouldn’t wish for anything else. If I hadn’t become a mutant, if I hadn’t been chased from our home by you I could’ve turned out just like you. I could’ve become a monster, like you… But I’m not like you. I’m not a monster and I have them, my _real_ family, to thank for that. And you wanna know something else?”

 

Raph dropped Shredder like a stone and walked away as the man he formerly called father gasped for air.

 

“You’re not worth it.”

 

Raph walked over to join his brothers as they finished dealing with Karai and tying her up. Shredder growled in indignation and pulled a dagger from a strap on his ankle, slowly rising to his feet.

 

“Dude, that was awesome. The way you took on the Shredder? _The_ Shredder? Oh man. I didn’t know you could be any more-” Mikey said before sensing the dagger flying towards Raph through the air currents, “LOOK OUT!”

 

Raph turned around to see the dagger stop mid-air barely a millimeter from the spot between his eyes before dropping to the ground.

 

“Huh?” Shredder asked in confusion before finding himself encased in rock.

“Father!” the four turtles cried out in glee as they turned their heads to see Master Splinter standing in the doorway and ran to greet him with a hug.

“My sons,” Splinter said, embracing the four teenagers he took into his home.

 

Tang Shen entered the room with a legion of officers following her, turning her head to Splinter and his family.

 

“You four are in a lot of trouble,” she said with a stern look that made them all feel guilty.

“But nice work,” she added with a smirk, “We already rounded up the rest of the Foot Clan outside, or at least this faction. There are probably other groups elsewhere in the world, but we’ll get ‘em. And besides, now that we have the infamous Shredder in custody-”

“And powerless!” Mikey added.

“Really?” Shen asked with a gleam in her eye as she turned to the Shredder with a smug look on her face that had the former Firebender’s anger flaring up.

“Well that’s terrific. I’m assuming we have you to thank for that, Hamato Raphael,” she added to Raph’s immense joy, “So thank you.”

 

She then turned to Karai.

 

“And as for you, little lady, you will be joining your fellow Foot Clan agents in a nice, cozy holding cell downtown while we interrogate your boss.”

“I don’t think so. If the Shredder cannot lead the Foot Clan to greatness, then I’ll just have to do it myself!” she yelled as she pulled the water from the pipes to create ice to slice through her ropes and steam to cover her escape.

 

Leo cast out the steam and Karai was gone.

 

“Karai? KARAI!” Shredder screamed.

“So much for your loyal little daughter,” Raph smirked.

 

Splinter walked over to Shredder, a man who once was a friend a long time ago.

 

“Saki.”

“Splinter.”

“As children I knew you were one of pride and of prejudice, always looking down on those you believed could never measure up to you. Only recently do I see just how full of hate you are. To cause such pain to a child who was of your own flesh and blood… to think I once called you friend,” he said before shaking his head, “You are not worthy.”

“Excuse me, _rat_?”

“You are not worthy to have a son as brave, as kind, as talented, or as mature as Raphael. Even in fear he stands tall and strong. Even in pain and bitterness he can show strangers compassion. Even in shadows his gift shines brightly. Even in the midst of pure anger he could find it in his heart to temper that flame inside. These are things you yourself have always been too weak to be capable of. You are not worthy of Raphael. You are not worthy of his greatness.”

 

Shredder struggled against the stone that held him, writhing and roaring in anger at his old friend.

 

“How dare you speak to me in such a way, rodent! That ingrate is not worthy of _me_ , of _my_ name! He is not worthy of being an Oroku! If you want him, rat, you can have him.”

“Gladly,” Splinter smiled, turning back to his family.

“Let us go home, my sons, and sleep peacefully knowing that this monster cannot hurt any of us anymore,” he said, wrapping his arms around his children as he walked them out of the warehouse.

“Right behind you, father,” Raph said before throwing the monster who had haunted his dreams for years one final, victoriously smug look over his shoulder before leaving him and all the painful memories behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of the story? Sorry to say that's all I've got. Please let me know what you thought of the chapter or the story as a whole. I'm dying to know what you all thought of it.


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